1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to toys, and more particularly, to a convertible activity toy for promoting gross motor development in children.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Children""s activity toys, particularly activity play centers, such as bouncer-type activity centers or stationary play tables, have been known in the art. Moreover, toys employing various types of runways, chutes, or other similar structures have been provided for balls, marbles, toy cars, and the like. These toys appeal to young children, particularly infants, because they enjoy watching the balls or other objects descend along or through the structures.
One known toy comprises a walker toy including a tray, a seat in the middle of the tray and wheels rotatably mounted to the assembly. Such devices have been popular for many years. Due to the difficulties that a child freely mobilized on wheels can present to parents, the recent trend in activity centers has been to create devices that do not have wheels so as to restrict the movement of a child seated therein.
A variety of different stationary play centers are known in the art. These stationary devices are typically similar to the prior walker-type devices, with the exception that they are mounted on legs rather than wheels, or alternatively they are mounted on rocking assemblies which provide for rocking movement, yet do not allow full mobility. In these conventional play centers, a child generally sits in a rotatable seat assembly, which is rotatable relative to the body portion for added play value, and such that a child seated in the seat can reach and play with toys placed on the surrounding play surface. The toys are generally geared to sensory stimulation. The leg assemblies are adjustable in height to provide different height settings as the child grows. Moreover, in order to accommodate the child""s changing needs over the first several years of its life, these conventional play centers have incorporated characteristics and features which allow the configuration of the play center to change with the child""s development, for example, transitioning from crawling to standing.
One known activity center is convertible between a bouncer-type stationary seat configuration and a play table configuration. The center includes a tray-shaped body portion and a plurality of adjustable leg assemblies pivotably mounted to the body portion for supporting the body portion in a stationary position on a supporting surface. The center further includes a removable seat assembly, which can be selectively mounted within the central opening to provide a bouncer-seat configuration. When the child reaches a standing or walking stage of development, the activity center can be converted into a table configuration. This is accomplished by removing the seat assembly from the central opening and mounting a planar table top insert within the central opening to provide a continuous planar play surface on the top of the body portion. In order to play with objects located on the planar play surface, a child must walk around the outside perimeter of the table.
Another example, of a conventional activity center, which is convertible between a bouncer configuration and a play center configuration, includes a circular tray-shaped body portion, a plurality of adjustable legs, and a saucer-shaped base portion. The tray-shaped body portion comprises two interlocking and rotatable sections so that the tray-shaped sections can be rotated within a common plane so that the activity items are disposed at a common level about the base. In the bouncer-seat configuration, the toy acts as a stationary walker whereby an infant can sit in a removable and rotatable seat assembly and interact with a plurality of toys disposed about the tray-shaped body portion. As the child grows, the center bouncer seat can be removed and the tray-shaped body portion can be rotated open to provide a play center for toddlers.
A problem with conventional toys is that although they have been configured to accommodate a child""s development, for example, transitioning from sitting to standing, they have failed to actively promote this development. In such conventional toys, the toys or other activity items have all been provided on the same tray-shaped body portion, which has generally been formed in a planar configuration. For example, in the bouncer seat configuration, the infant rotates the seat to play with the toys disposed about the tray-shaped body portion. To accommodate the child""s growth, conventional toys have been convertible to play tables or other one-level activity centers. In these configurations, the toddler may play with the toys disposed on the tray-shaped body portion. But these toys have generally been disposed in the same planar orientation with respect to each other. Thus, these conventional toys have not actively promoted the child""s development of gross motor skills, such as transitioning from sitting to standing. As the design of toys has progressed, however, parents, teachers, and other individuals involved in child-care have sought and/or demanded toys that not only accommodate a child""s growth but in addition, provide a direct stimulus to the child""s development.
In light of the above-identified demands, there is a need for an improved approach that incorporates visual or audible attractions disposed in multiple planar configurations, such as descending objects, lights, sounds, or the like while at the same time providing an incentive for the child to physically interact with the device. The better approach would be designed to allow an infant to crawl into an interior of the toy to interact with the activity items while at the same time being designed to allow conversion into a multi-planar activity center for toddlers. The better approach would also be designed to support the child""s body weight and incorporate means such as grips or handles to allow the child to pull up from a seated position to a standing position to play with the device. This combination of visual, audible, and physical interaction with the toy at multiple planar configurations would aid in the promotion of gross motor development, especially for infants, while at the same time provide an entertaining device to be used for a prolonged period of time by toddlers. The nature of the operation of such a toy would require coordination of the eyes, hands, and body that could also have applicability in physical therapy for small children.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a toy that substantially obviates the limitations and disadvantages of conventional toys. Particularly, there is a need for a toy that provides for visual, audible, and physical interaction with the toy at multiple planar configurations and that aids in the promotion of gross motor development.
The present invention solves the problems with, and overcomes the disadvantages of, conventional toys. In particular, the present invention relates to a toy that provides for visual, audible, and physical interaction with the toy at multiple planar configurations and that aids in the promotion of gross motor development.
The invention includes a base receivable on a supporting surface and a top coupled to the base. The top preferably includes a first portion and a second portion whereby the first portion is movable from a substantially coplanar orientation relative to the second portion to a substantially non-coplanar orientation relative to the second portion. The top preferably has a substantially circular configuration such that the first portion forms an arch when the first portion is moved to the substantially non-coplanar orientation. The invention also includes an activity item, or a plurality of activity items, disposed on one or both of the base and the top. The top and the base preferably define an opening and an interior space proportioned to accommodate a child. The child may crawl through the opening and into the interior space when the top is in the substantially coplanar orientation or so that the child may walk through the opening and into the interior space or a portion of the interior space when the top is in the substantially non-coplanar orientation. The child may interact with one or more of the activity items disposed on the base or the top when the child is in the interior space.
In another aspect, the invention includes a support coupled to the base and the top whereby the base, the top, and the support define an interior space and an opening proportioned to accommodate a child. The invention also preferably includes a pathway defined by the base for guiding an object from an upper end of the base to a lower end of the base. The top also preferably includes an opening in communication with the pathway. The invention also preferably includes a sensory output generator and an actuator operatively coupled to the sensory output generator and operable to initiate operation of the sensory output generator. The sensory output generator also provides visual or audible stimulation to reward the child as the child interacts with the toy.